From Meyer (2018).
Newborns (and adults) preferentially parse the speech signal into syllable-sized units (e.g., Bijeljac-Babic, Bertoncini, and Mehler 1993; Fló et al. 2022; Luo and Poeppel 2007; Jusczyk and Derrah 1987; Bertoncini et al. 1988)
From Fló et al. (2022).
| Structure | Onset | Nucleus | Coda |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | a | ||
| CV | t | a | |
| CVC | t | a | n |
| VC | a | n |
| Structure | Japanese | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | u.mi | o.jo | a.ny |
| CV | ya.ma.ha | ca.sa | fai.ry |
| CVC | hon.da | rin.cón | con.trol |
| CCVC | fres.co | fresh | |
| CCVCC | trans.por.te | shrink | |
| CCCVCCC | strengths |
Consonants are preferably grouped at syllabic onset
fNIRS: differential haemodynamic response1 to MOP+ and MOP- stimuli.
Hypothesis 1: If newborns are sensitive to violations of the MOP, the haemodynamic responses to MOP+ and MOP- words should differ (morphology of the signal).
mo.pla \(\neq\) mop.la
Hypothesis 2: If newborns have an innate preference for MOP+ structures, the haemodynamic response to MOP+ words should be greater than for MOP- words (max. amplitude, AUC, time-to-peak). (?)
mo.pla \(\gt\) mop.la
Hypothesis 3: If newborns discriminate between MOP+ and MOP- (Hypothesis 1), they do so by processing the disyllabic structure of the word (not just the first syllable).
mop.pla \(\neq\) mop
CVCCV words: Onset + Vowel + Consonant cluster (CC) + Vowel
| List | Syllabification | Words |
|---|---|---|
| List 1 | ST (CV-CCV) | MO-PLA, SA-KLO, TI-PLE, DE-KLI |
| DW (CVC-CV) | MOP-LA, SAK-LO, TIP-LE, DEK-LI | |
| DS (CVC) | MOP, SAK, TIP, DEK | |
| List 2 | ST (CV-CCV) | MO-KLA, SA-PLO, TI-KLE, DE-PLI |
| DW (CVC-CV) | MOK-LA, SAP-LO, TIK-LE, DEP-LI | |
| DS (CVC) | MOK, SAP, TIK, DEP |
it4 voice) (pymbrola Python package)MNE-NIRS (Python):
Haemodynamic response averaged across blocks, channels, and participants.
HbO HbR
Haemodynamic response averaged across blocks, channels, and participants.
ST DW DS
Haemodynamic response averaged across blocks and participants.
Haemodynamic response averaged across blocks and participants.